I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

It wasn't a formulaic fake smile either.

Instead, it was a warm smile full of genuine emotion.

Looking at the beautiful woman before him, looking at her smiling face... Qingdeng felt the corners of his mouth uncontrollably lifting and extending upwards.

"……I see."

Qingdeng bowed slightly and gave a solemn salute to Tianzhangyuan.

"Your Highness, thank you for your help!"

"Haha, no need to thank me so soon."

Tenshōin laughed loudly while waving his hand.

"Come thank me after I've actually done something practical for you."

After saying that, Tianzhangyuan took a half step forward on his knees and sat closer to Qingdeng.

"So, what are your plans for the next step? The enemy is lurking in the shadows; it won't be easy to find them."

"I plan to bring Kimura Kazuma and Hisaka Motozo here for questioning first."

Qing Deng answered without hesitation.

"...You're not kidding me, are you?"

Tenshōin's expression froze.

"I was serious."

Qingdeng continued the conversation with a serious expression.

"One of the secrets to solving cases is to never overlook even the smallest possibility."

"Of all the people I know, Kimura Kazuma and Hisaka Genzo have the greatest motive and ability to frame me."

Whether they are innocent or not... we will find the answer after interrogating them.

Tenshōin sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"You actually tried to kidnap the captain of the Fire Thieves... I don't know whether to praise you for your 'daring' or scold you for 'losing your mind'..."

"Sigh... Anyway, let me draw a conclusion first: kidnapping Kimura Kazuma and Hisaka Genzo—that's impossible!"

"Why?" Qingdeng asked, puzzled.

"The massacre of the entire hatamoto clan—this shocking tragedy was unprecedented since the rise of Daigongen (Tokugawa Ieyasu)."

"The various hatamoto and gokenin, who were terrified and furious by such heinous acts, united to put pressure on the thieves, demanding that Okubo Tadashi and Kurosawa Atsuyuki apprehend the culprits as quickly as possible."

Tadashi Okubo and Atsuyuki Kurosawa: Aoto's superiors and the current leaders of the thief gang.

"Therefore, after the 'Akabane Family Massacre,' all officers and soldiers of the Fire Thieves Bureau were on high alert. In recent days, apart from you who are 'missing' and the deceased Kanazawa Tadatsumi, all the captains of the Fire Thieves Bureau have been stationed at the government office day and night, directing their officers to investigate the case."

"In other words, for the present and for a considerable period of time to come, Kimura Kazuma and Hisaka Genzo will continue to live in the yamen of the Hisaka Thieves."

"They are rarely alone, making it easier to kidnap them."

“I see…” Qingdeng muttered, stroking his chin. “Then… Your Highness, could you use your authority to summon them to a location convenient for us to kidnap them, under the pretext of ‘a superior has something to report’ or some other reason?”

Tensho-in shook his head.

"If it were before the death of Elder Ii and before the rise of the Hitotsubashi faction, perhaps it would have been possible to do this."

"Right now... countless eyes of the 'Hitotsubashi faction' are watching every move that Kamo and I make."

“If Jia Mao or I do anything strange, a massive wave of impeachments and attacks will come at us.”

"To summon a fire-fighting thief captain who has no right to interact with the 'Sei-i Taishogun' and the 'Ō-Midai-sho' out of nowhere, and then the person summoned suddenly 'disappears'... Guess how the 'Hitotsubashi Faction' will speculate and attack me and Iemochi after they find out about this?"

“…That makes sense.” Qingdeng sighed and exhaled the remaining air from his lungs.

Seeing that Qing Deng seemed to have been persuaded, Tensho-in breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly.

"Therefore, it's best to cancel the 'kidnapping of Kimura Kazuma and Hisaka Genzo' plan."

As soon as Tianzhangyuan finished speaking, Qingdeng's loud voice immediately rang out in a confrontational tone:

"No. I still want to kidnap Kimura Kazuma and Hisaka Genzo. They are the only leads I currently have, and I don't want to give up just like that."

Silence fell between Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan.

It wasn't until about 10 seconds later that Tenshōin finally voiced his anger:

"Tachibana-kun, did you understand what I just said? I think I made myself very clear, didn't I? All the captains of the Fire Thieves, including Kimura Kazuma and Hisaka Genzo, are currently gathered at the government office day and night."

"There's simply no chance for them to be alone."

"Could it be that you intend to infiltrate the government office of the thieves and secretly kidnap Kimura Kazuma and Hisaka Genzo?"

"That's even more impossible!"

“Tachibana-kun, as the captain of the Third Division of the Fire Thieves, you should know better than me just how well-defended the Fire Thieves’ Office is.”

"Don't even mention you, even Amagura Owl, who is one of the best in the new Imperial Guard, doesn't have the ability to infiltrate the government office of the Fire Thieves."

Because he was anxious, Tenshōin's tone sounded somewhat abrupt.

Her earnest desire to persuade Qingdeng to "turn over a new leaf and not go astray" was evident in her words.

"...Your Highness, I understand everything you've said."

Qingdeng nodded slightly.

Then, he adopted a tone that was as if he were talking to Tenshōin, yet also as if he were speaking to himself, and said slowly and deliberately:

"But... it doesn't have to be 'sneaking in quietly and knocking someone unconscious' to be considered 'kidnapping'."

Instantly, Tianzhangyuan's pupils contracted slightly, and his lips parted slightly.

"Tachibana-kun, you wouldn't be thinking of..."

……

……

The next day, at night—

Edo, a government office converted from a burglary site by thieves—

……

"Um... junior, are you really sure about this? Are you really planning to do it?"

"...Senior, when you were cleaning the Moon Shrine or doing other work, did you ever have this feeling: you felt so tired and annoyed with the work, and you wanted to smash the entire Moon Shrine to pieces?"

"I...I...I...How could I possibly feel like that! The Moon Shrine is my home! How could I possibly want to destroy my own home!"

"Senior, please tell the truth."

"This...this...um...how should I put it...when I'm assigned to do really hard work...I sometimes think about quitting...as for smashing the entire Tsukimiya Shrine...that thought...that thought...is not unheard of...but it's not that extreme! I only ever thought about burning down the torii gates that are super troublesome to clean!"

“That’s right. Senior, let me put it this way, ‘making a scene in the workplace’—that’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”

Having said that, Qingdeng tightened the veil and headscarf on his face, then picked up his bamboo sword and flashed out of the alley, heading straight for the gate of the Fire Thieves' Office not far away without the slightest hesitation.

Following closely behind were Sae, Yae, and Amagura Owl, who also covered their faces with face towels and headscarves.

"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here? Don't you recognize these two characters? Get out of here!"

Outside the gate, four guards barked menacingly at Qing Deng and his companions. They pointed to a lantern hanging high above the eaves, painted with the words "Fire Thief."

Qingdeng didn't reply, but silently continued walking forward... while raising his bamboo sword and assuming the stance of the Kasumi Dan...

……

boom!

The loud crash of the heavy wooden gate being rammed open with brute force echoed through the night!

……

"Hey! What's going on? What's that sound?!"

"Intruders! Intruders have broken in!"

"What did you say?! Intruders?!"

"Who on earth are these bandits who dare to attack my government office, which is run by thieves and robbers?!"

……

January 19, the second year of Wanyan year (1861).

On this day, the "Special Police Force" that strikes fear into the hearts of countless villains, Fire and Thieves, encountered an emergency situation unlike anything they had ever faced since its inception.

The headquarters has been attacked!

The attackers are—"Niou" Tachibana Aoto and three ninjas!

The force that met them was composed of more than half of the Fire Thieves' military strength!

*******

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Please vote for me! Please recommend me! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

The pacing of today's chapter is incredibly fast! There's not a single wasted word. If it were me in the past, I could have easily written over 1 words in this chapter.

This chapter originally had about 7000 words, but I edited and revised it until it became the current 4200 words.

Leopard has been consciously trying to make his writing more concise lately.

Anyway, you guys definitely don't like reading Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan's rambling, and I don't like writing either.

Since that's the case, let's simplify things.

So, I kept deleting and revising...

Then it turned into this "fast-paced" scene.

Chapter 372 The Benevolent King Takes Action! Destroys the Fire-Bearing Thief! [4400]

Since infiltration is difficult, we will directly storm the government office of the thieves and forcibly abduct Kimura Kazuma, Hisaka Genzo, as well as the captain of the 7th Division, Tsuchida Masayoshi, and the captain of the 8th Division, Kazama Nobuyoshi.